Preparing for Action

"Logan!!" General Lake shouted in shock and fury. "How are you here?!"

"Thanks to you..." Logan growled through gritted teeth. "Fuck! Lake, I've missed you so much I could die..."

Just as Logan was about to pounce into the vehicle, General Lake's eyes flashed coldly. Without the slightest hesitation, he drew his pistol, aimed at that scruffy face, and pulled the trigger!

"Bang!"

At the critical moment, Logan instinctively raised an arm to shield his head. The bullet drilled precisely into his forearm, tearing through flesh before striking bone with a dull thud, sending him staggering back.

At that moment, General Lake shouted to the side, "Bob! Stop him!"

"Roar!!"

From another armored vehicle, Bob the Fire Giant leaped down. Flames erupted all over his body as he charged at Logan in just a few strides!

Since Impact Elias had been called away on urgent business and Lightwave and Night Demon were recovering from their injuries, General Lake had brought only Bob the Fire Giant for this operation. Combined with his modern military forces, he believed that was more than enough to deal with a dozen mutant children.

Though Logan's appearance had been unexpected, General Lake did not believe that this scruffy old wolf posed much of a threat.

The facts soon proved him right.

"Ugh..."

Logan exchanged only a single punch with the Fire Giant before the scorching heat and terrifying force knocked him brutally to the ground, leaving even his consciousness reeling.

They were not on the same level at all.

"Heh heh... Wolverine?"

The Fire Giant grinned savagely and bent down, reaching for Logan's head.

But at that moment, the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to rise!

"Ahh!" Richter thrust out both hands, controlling the swelling earth and forcing the Fire Giant back.

Then Jonah also extended a hand, trying to restrain the Fire Giant's movements. His face twisted in pain as he cried out, clearly struggling terribly!

"Die!!" Bobby unleashed electricity at the Fire Giant with all his strength. At the same time, Rebecca beckoned over a branch and viciously thrust it toward him!

"Ugh!"

The Fire Giant snorted coldly, suddenly breaking free from Jonah's restraint. He then clenched his fist tightly and hurled it at Rebecca!

Rebecca's face went pale. She instinctively raised her hand to block, only to see the branch halted midair by Delia's telekinesis before dropping to the ground.

"Ugh..." Taking advantage of that time, Logan groaned and shakily got back to his feet.

The searing pain of the burns mingled with the agony of the bullet ripping through his muscles. The pungent stench of charred flesh mixed with gunpowder smoke flooded his nose, leaving him dazed.

He had already been pushed to his limit. He could only rely on his Adamantium skeleton to force his battered body onward. When his vision finally refocused, he discovered that he and the children had been completely surrounded.

The cold outlines of armored vehicles formed an iron wall around them. Dozens of soldiers raised their black muzzles, the laser sights mounted on their guns casting flickering red dots across the terrified faces of the young mutants.

These people had reacted quickly. In only a few minutes, they had reorganized their defensive line and completed the encirclement.

"I should thank you, Logan."

General Lake stepped out of the vehicle and looked at the figures trapped in the middle. "I was still wondering how I was supposed to find these little rats... and then you personally brought them out for me..."

"I have to say, you did well. So..." General Lake looked at Logan and said softly, "You're no longer useful."

As he spoke, he gave Logan a slight wave of his hand.

The next instant, gunfire erupted.

"Ah! Ahh!!"

Screams rang out one after another. General Lake stared blankly at Logan, who was still standing there unharmed, before abruptly turning to look beside him.

The dozens of drones circling in the night sky had somehow changed the indicator lights beneath their wings from green, which signified nonlethal mode, to blood-red, which signified attack mode!

At the same time, the rifles suspended beneath the drones were mercilessly spewing fire at their former "comrades"!

"Whew..." At the same time, Logan finally let out a breath of relief.

Aurora had successfully infiltrated them!

"Bzzzt—!!"

At that moment, harsh electronic static burst through everyone's earpieces, plunging the battlefield into chaos!

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat..."

The drones began climbing continuously while firing into the crowd without pause. The screams only grew more intense.

"Damn it..."

The Fire Giant had just been about to go after Logan again when General Lake called him back.

"Bob! Forget that guy—cover my retreat!"

"Damn it... There's more than one X-0!!"

The instant he realized that every electronic device had gone out of control, General Lake instinctively thought of Miles. Once he realized there might be a "second Miles" here, he chose to retreat without hesitation!

Having witnessed it firsthand, he knew better than anyone that X-0's control over modern technology was absolute!

"Retreat! Everyone, retreat!" General Lake screamed futilely into his malfunctioning communicator as he scrambled back into the vehicle.

Bob roared, smashing a fist into the ground behind him. A scorching wave of fire surged up, temporarily forcing back several restless children. Then he turned and guarded General Lake's vehicle.

"Argh!!"

Seeing the enemy preparing to retreat, Rebecca gave an exhilarated cry and controlled the plants on the ground to wrap around the feet of several soldiers who had failed to escape in time, tripping them hard to the ground.

"Oh, yeah!" Bobby rushed up beside an armored vehicle and released an electric current into it. Sharp screams immediately came from inside.

"Come back! All of you, come back!" Logan braced himself against a charred tree trunk, his chest heaving violently while the wound on his arm continued to bleed.

He roared at the children, who had been driven into a killing frenzy, "Calm down! Don't chase them too far... There aren't enough of us!"

His roar cooled the heads of several young mutants who had gotten carried away. They looked at one another, then retreated to Logan's side, panting heavily.

The enemy had already vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving behind only wreckage and the groans of the wounded.

"Where are the others? Which vehicle are they being held in?"

"That vehicle doesn't seem to be here..." Delia sensed the area, frowning as she muttered, "Damn it... They've already been transferred!"

"Fuck!" Logan slammed a fist into the tree trunk beside him.

Not long afterward, everyone regrouped inside a cave.

Logan leaned against the damp rock wall, tore off a corner of his shirt, and tightly bound his still-bleeding arm. Then he took out the phone they had just recovered and asked, "Aurora, have they left?"

"General Lake is regrouping his troops on a road several kilometers away. This is a rare window of opportunity. We can leave now," Aurora replied.

"But... where can we go?" Delia asked quietly. "Canada?"

Richter pursed his lips and looked at Logan.

"They won't let this go." Logan spoke in a low voice. "Once those military bastards have their eyes on us, it won't matter where we run... I'm certain of that..."

When it came to understanding the military, few people in the entire United States knew them better than Logan. He understood clearly that once those wolves smelled blood, they would never let go.

The young mutants fell silent.

Then Laura suddenly raised her head and spoke to everyone. "We can go save them!"

"Aurora told me Miles is being held in a military base... Gideon, Mona, and the others will probably be sent there too! We can go straight to that base and rescue them!"

"...Are you crazy?" Richter asked in disbelief. "Storm a military base? With just the few of us?!"

"Maybe we really can try..."

Aurora suddenly spoke from the phone. "As long as we can rescue Mr. Miles, with his abilities, we would not be completely helpless against the military. At the very least, we would be able to protect ourselves!"

"So the key is how to rapidly break into the heart of the enemy position and locate Miles."

"Miles?" Richter thought for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "You mean... that guy who isn't right in the head and is always laughing like an idiot?"

"...That's him."

Laura sighed and spent some effort explaining Miles's situation to them.

"If we are going to break into General Lake's military base... the greatest difficulty will be getting through its outer defenses and reaching the interior," Aurora analyzed. "Whiteman Air Force Base, as an important hub of United States Northern Command, is heavily guarded. There is almost no possibility of silently breaking through from the ground."

"Its outer defensive perimeter extends over five kilometers and includes minefields, high-voltage electric fences, and vibration sensors." Aurora's analysis was devoid of emotion. "Mr. Richter, even you would find it difficult to dig such a long tunnel underground without being detected."

"...No argument from me." Richter shrugged in acknowledgment.

"Then... perhaps we could hijack a plane?" Delia suggested. "Then fly over from the air."

"That would also be difficult," Aurora replied. "As a top-tier air force base, Whiteman Base has comprehensive anti-air radar and air-defense systems. Conventional aircraft have no possibility of penetrating them."

"Doesn't that mean there's no way at all?" Jonah scratched his head. "You keep talking about a raid... but we can't even get there!"

Based on their current analysis, for just the few of them to raid a fully equipped, heavily defended air force base was nothing short of a fantasy.

But at that moment, Logan, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke.

"We can fly a plane there."

As everyone's eyes turned to him, Logan straightened up. His gaze swept over the young faces before him, and he said with a complicated expression:

"A plane that can turn invisible..."